Jack Dorsey, the Chief Executive Officer of Twitter, on Saturday, tweeted the green-white-green Nigerian flag as the West African country marked its 2021 Democracy Day. He made the tweet at exactly 12am Nigerian time.
Dorsey’s tweet, which was posted hours to the ongoing nationwide protests in Nigeria, has since attracted thousands of retweets.
Many tweeps including known faces such as Kate Henshaw @HenshawKate and @mrfestusogun have since hailed the co-founder of the micro-blogging platform for showing solidarity with Nigerian citizens amid the struggle for good governance, a better economy and an end to the security challenges plaguing over 200 million people living in Nigeria.
Reacting, lawyer and activist, Ayo Sogunro, tweeted “In 2019, I mocked people who went to meet-and-greet Jack when he visited Nigeria. I’m like that: I hate the way we patronise rich white men in Africa. But if I meet Jack today, I will thank him for not rolling over for the Nigerian govt at the expense of the people. #KeepitOn”
The Twitter CEO has not been in the good books of the Nigerian government since last October over an allegation that he was complicit in the promotion of the #EndSARS protests that ended in the destruction of lives and billions of property in Nigeria.
Last week, the regime of the Nigerian President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), suspended Twitter, citing the “persistent use of the platform for activities that are capable of undermining Nigeria’s corporate existence”. The Federal Government’s action followed a deletion of a controversial civil war post by the President.